Tên Mûel
by SaiNanWorks
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present can change this. (Slash, A/L, OOC (Arwen mostly), E/E, slavery)
1. The Present

Title: Tên Mûel  
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)  
Category: AU, RPG  
Rating: this chapter... PG? May go up soon... *is getting poked by My-chan: "NC-17!"* *sweatdrops*  
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*  
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery...  
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.  
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present can change this.  
  
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only.  
Notes&Comments: This was written by me and My-chan, as a rpg and ever since Pretending And Being, a wild mix of German and English we have this nearly exhitionistic need for feedback from various places. ^^;; So please be gentle.  
Now on to the story itself. I know that this may look like a serious Arwen-bashing story, but please be reassured that we don't mean to cause any harm to anybody who likes her.  
The Sindarin we used (and transformed for ourselves) we got from a little program called Dragon Flame (which I always think that it is this game I don't want to play unless I know I am on my own), but since it didn't have all the words we needed, we had to make them up. If you have any questions feel free to send an email to any of us... and hope that we still know what we wanted to say. ^^;;;;  
  
**Additional Note:** Please read, this is important for better understanding. We know that in the original version of lotr it was Boromir who joined the followship and died, but this is **AU** (means Alternative Universe if you didn't get that yet). The first chapter says that it's Faramir who died, and we DO mean him! We're not stupid, it's just different.  


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Aragorn was a brave man. And he was popular among the people of Gondor.

They loved their king Elessar Telcontar who participated in the Fellowship of the One Ring that was destroyed in the fires of mount Doom in which it was made by Sauron at the dawn of time in Middle-Earth, when Humans, Dwarves and Elves had been friends. But then again, Dwarves and Elves had never really been friends; they just had tolerated each other once until the one felt betrayed by the other.

Humans and Elves had been much closer, be it because they were about of the same height or because they both cherished the light. They loved the fresh air in contrast to the Dwarves who lived in caves and tunnels inside of the mountains where they searched for gold, silver and the most beautiful gems.

But this changed when Orcs and the One Ring appeared.

Because it was then, in the last legendary battle in which Dwarves, Elves and Humans fought side by side against the great Orc-Army of Sauron, in which Sauron was defeated that Humans spilled the great secret of the Orcs' origin.

Orcs had been Elves once but they were sold to Sauron by their friends, the nine kings who got their rings from Sauron and were controlled in every movement by him. They were his tools and got immortality for that but lost everything else.

The hurt and betrayed Elves disappeared in the deepest and darkest forests of Middle-Earth, making them even more mysterious and creepy than before. 3,000 years had to pass until Elves made their next big step onto the stage of history in Middle-Earth.

Rivendell had been a haven for those who searched Elves and Elves who wanted to live closer to the Humans, although the latter was rather seldom. Wizards, Humans, even some Hobbits and the one or other Dwarf were seen there in all the time and everybody like the Rivendell Elves, even though they had hardly ever seen one out of the peaceful city.

It was there where Aragorn was raised by his foster father Elrond, educated by him, was trained in the skills of sword-fighting, archery and hand-to-hand-combat by Elladan and Elrohir, his twin brothers and found love in Arwen, Elrond's daughter. She was most beautiful Elf in all Rivendell with her ivory skin, ebony hair, eyes as blue as the sky and lips as red as blood.

Aragorn would have been happy to live in the forest for the rest of his life, having Arwen by his side and forget about the inheritance of the old Kings' bloodline if it hadn't been for the One Ring, which found its way to Rivendell in the hands of a Hobbit named Frodo, with a soul so pure and innocent that the Ring had a hard time seducing him. To Aragorn it was a wonder that none of the four Hobbits seemed to feel the effects the Ring had on everyone, even Elrond.

But he was sent to protect the Ringbearer from all danger that wanted to harm him on his way to Morder, along with Elladan and Elrohir, Faramir of Gondor, Gimli the Dwarf and Gandalf the Grey Wizard. The journey was hard and difficult and they lost both Gandalf and Faramir on their way, Gandalf in the halls of Moria and Faramir in a battle against Uruk-Hai that kidnapped the Hobbits. Faramir died in Aragorn's arms, acknowledging him as the rightful king of Gondor even before he himself did.

It was after Faramir's death that the Fellowship broke apart, the Hobbits Sam and Frodo were taking the One Ring to Mordor and Aragorn led the others to find the missing two Hobbits Merry and Pippin. They also found Gandalf on their hunt, along with allies in Rohan who went with Aragorn and his friends to Minas Tirith where the last battle against Sauron's army was fought.

So in the end the One Ring was destroyed as well as Sauron, Aragorn was Elessar Telcontar, King of Gondor and married happily to his betrothed Arwen.

Arwen was more than happy to come to Gondor. She could now live far away from her father, who she didn't quite understand in his grief over mankind. In her opinion he was still living in the past, didn't go on a day since Isildur died, all those thousands of years ago. Being with Aragorn always brought some life into hers, she had once said to Aragorn in private, all those years ago, when they still shared one bed for other reasons than rejuvenating.

Sometimes he pondered about the reasons for the expiry of the heat between them and wondered briefly if it was his fault. He gave Arwen all the love he could, but recently he started missing something in their relationship, something essential, but he couldn't name it.

So once again he sat over endless papers that demanded his attention when he would rather be outside and practice archery and sword-fighting or have a nice pint of ale. Being King was a demanding occupation and it wasn't seldom that Aragorn wanted to flee from his kingdom and pass it to somebody else. He could endure it as long as he was sure of Arwen's love and comfort but she had gotten cold. Or maybe it was him. After all those years they spent together he had practically searched every bit of skin of her beautiful body and knew every crevice by heart and she was just the same.

He groaned and buried his head into the papers on his desk. "Why me..."

"Estel?"

Aragorn blinked and looked up with a contract on his cheek from Rohan about giving Boromir, son of the former ruler of Gondor and brother of Faramir to the Lady Eowyn, one of the many stupid requests that needed his approval. Nobody but Arwen called him by his Elven name anymore.

"Arwen," he said and smiled, picking the paper absentmindedly from his cheek as he stood up and walked over to her. "My beautiful wife."

She was as young as ever had not aged one day since he had first seen her. She was an eternal beauty and he was getting older each day, each hour and minute; he could feel it in his bones.

She replied him with one of her business smiles and parchments on his desk. "Boring matters again?"

"Don't ask," he said and looked for a moment as sheepish as the boy she had once found wading through her robes, not even a handful of winters old. "Have you come to lighten up my gray duty?"

She shook her head, waves of ebony hair floating over her back. "Well, yes, but... do you remember which day is today?"

He looked deep in thought. "I hardly remember which day of the week it is today, but since you ask, it must be something important... Don't tell... I forgot your birthday again!"

She laughed, a full mezzo-soprano. "No, Estel, and even if you did, I don't want to be reminded that I will be 3,000 soon. No, my dear husband, it's our wedding day."

"Oh," Aragorn said and thought. 'I wonder if I get another horse... A nice chestnut haired mare for the dark stallion I got last year...' He tried to smile and somehow missed the cheekiness on his wife's face.

"Don't worry about your present for me, I already got a beautiful necklace from Gimli and gave him a great reward from the treasure room. You know how much he loves gold, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Aragorn said with a smirk. "So now that you got my present for you without me knowing what it was... what do I get? You know I am happy the way it is."

"I know you are, as am I, but I found something on the market some days ago that I couldn't pass by..."

He saw her motioning to her maidens and they brought in a struggling something with a bright red ribbon around the chest. Aragorn blinked than gasped and wasn't sure what to say to his wife. "A..."

"Isn't he beautiful? He's a Woodelf! I've never seen anyone of his kind before! I mean, Adar told me that there were other types of Elves with blond hair, but I never thought that they really existed!" She walked a full circle around the blindfolded Elf and then put one of her petite hands on his stomach, drawing little circles. "I've bought him only for you."

The king of Gondor stared openly at his wife and her "gift". He would have never believed that she would support slavery as he didn't but Elves were rare these days and those who were lucky enough to catch an Elf sold them for a good price to those who wanted to pay it. "Sell one Elf and you will never have to work again" was a pretty popular slogan in the pubs of Gondor and the rest of Middle-Earth.

And this particular one was even able to compete even with Arwen's beauty although he was a male. Shoulder-length blond hair, skin as ivory as Arwen's, now hidden underneath a silken tunic that was just thrown over his shoulders, rather muscular as Aragorn surveyed them closer, like if he was used to archery, held together with a silver belt around his waist. A black scarf was bound around his eyes, another around his wrists and then there was this offending red ribbon around his chest.

"Arwen..." he started, wanting to tell her to set him free immediately but she just smiled at him, like a cat that had caught a bird and put it before its master. "No Estel, he's yours and he will help you relax."

She waved to her maidens and they set off for the King's chambers. "I've ordered to put a ring into your chambers where you can tie him onto... He will be in your chambers for your custody alone." She floated over the floor over to him until she stood right in front of him. "Happy Wedding Day, Estel."

For a few moments, the Elf remained still when the gentle fingers drew circles over his stomach, and he shivered slightly. He was afraid, yes. But he swore to himself, never to show any of these strange and brutal creatures. He still had some of his pride left, the men who captured him didn't manage to break all of it, and he would never show any of them that he was afraid.

As the Woodelf felt the cold hand grab him again, to drag him out of the room, he started struggling again, trying to get free. He earned another punch in the stomach, which left him rather weak in the arms of his superiors.

Without any farther resistance, he let himself be dragged down a hallway into another room. After he was set to the ground, the Elf could feel some tugging on his necklace, and he heard a sound which seemed to be some kind of steel rings... Chains! They had chained him to the wall!

The Elf clenched his fists. This was humiliating. But he didn't struggle, he was too afraid to try to escape again. He remembered very well, what had happened the last time he tried. He shivered again and leaned back, to rest his body against the wall.

He was tired and exhausted, but wouldn't allow himself to sleep. Also he didn't think that he possibly could, with all the adrenalin rushing through his body. The Woodelf listened carefully, if anyone entered the room and concentrated carefully on his surroundings. And despite his fear, he soon fell asleep, still resting against the wall, blindfolded and tied up.

Aragorn and his wife had talked a bit more but she had left his office soon, saying that she had to take care of a few things. Sighing, he had concentrated back on his royal duties: Paperwork. It took him more than just a few hours to finish them and it was pitch-black night when he finally strolled back to his room. The request from Rohan was now on Boromir's desk as it was concerning only him.

He had almost forgotten Arwen's present until he walked into his room and found the Elf sitting in a corner, tied to the wall with a big leather and metal collar around his neck, which was chained to the ring Arwen had mentioned. He was lying in a tight ball on the floor, arms wrapped tightly around muscular-looking legs, the silken tunic had moved everywhere but where it belonged and his formerly neatly combed hair was now in a mess. Despite himself, Aragorn smiled.

It was the last thing he wanted to call the Elf, but "cute" was the only description that came to his mind right now. He went over to kneel in front of the sleeping prisoner, to remove the blindfold with ginger fingers as he didn't want to wake him.

Under closer inspection Aragorn could see quite a few bruises all over the ivory skin, especially where the disheveled tunic revealed it. The man felt strange as he let the tips his fingers ghost over them.

"What have they done to you?" he whispered silently, his face turning into a mask of pity. But he could help but admire the beauty of the sleeping Elf... even if it was a male one. 

His oversensitive senses snapped in when somebody came closer to the room, and sent alarming shivers through the Elf's body, causing him to wake up. He could hear somebody opening the door, and step in, but he remained unmoving, still hoping the person would just turn around and go away.

But his inward prayers died unheard as the steps came closer and stopped in front of the captured Elf.

'Go away!' he screamed in his mind, still pretending to be asleep, as the creature apparently kneeled down next to him. Hardly able to suppress another shiver when his blindfold was carefully removed, the Elf's thoughts raced. The adrenalin in his blood seemed to have doubled its intensity, and all he felt like doing was jerk up, and run away. But he knew he couldn't. He was tied up and chained.

From the corner of his eyes, the slave caught sight of the stranger. This creature seemed to inspect him, since he could almost feel his eyes on his body. And the Elf used the chance to do the same.

The skin of this person was more tanned than his, and his ears where smaller and round, like those of the men who had caught him. Those devils… monsters… Humans.

The Elf almost screamed out loud when suddenly gentle fingers moved over his bruised skin. He wanted to fly from the touch, but he was too frightened to move. And the man in front of him was radiating so much power, authority and strengths that it was even hard to breath for the captured Woodelf.

But then, the Human started to speak, in this strange and sharp manner. For a few more seconds the Elf managed to regain himself, before he shot up and backed away as far as possible from the Human, as far as the chain would let him. Crawling backwards he bowed his head down, staring on his still tied up hands. He remained still only when he felt the necklace starting to choke him.

The men had never talked much to him, but when they did, they only yelled at him, hurt him and "taught" him. The Elf didn't want to be yelled at any more, for those sharp words hurt his ears as well. And he especially didn't want this man to get loud, since he had a strong voice. He could tell from the few whispered words.

So the slave bowed farther down, quickly licked his dry lips and croaked out a clumsy "master". One of the few Human words he had had to learn, among many other things.

Aragorn's eyes widened both in surprise and shock. Surprise as the Elf jumped up with a start and huddled up in the corner farthest away from him and shock as he saw how submissive he moved and when that one word slipped out of his mouth. His heart sank and he felt the sudden need to strangle somebody, namely the one who sold this Woodelf or Arwen for buying him, but quickly regained his self-control. The Elf was probably trained to react that way to whomever it was that was talking to him. Probably by the same people who were responsible for those bruises as well.

'Great, just what I need now after countless hours of paperwork... negotiating with a scared Elf...'

Rubbing his temples, Aragorn's mind raced to find the best ways of gaining somebody's trust... even if they thought you were Sauron himself. Which he wasn't, so he just had to made that clear.

He held out his hands to show that he had no weapons, and indicated that he didn't want to cause harm to his present, and talked as calmly as possible.

"Don't be afraid... I don't mean to cause you any harm."

The Elf's pointed ears twitched slightly when the Human started talking again. But it wasn't the usual tone. Not the sharp, rough manner he was used to. Even though this strange language seemed rather harsh, the Woodelf could hear that this man's voice was unusually soft.

But still. He didn't understand the words, and maybe he was just testing him, if he would behave, and if he didn't…

Not wanting to annoy his master, the Elf remained in his position, and kept staring on his tied hands.

"Do you understand me?" Aragorn asked, slightly taken aback that he received no answer from the Elf and had to see how he maybe just curled up into a tighter ball, staring at his bound hands in submissiveness that made the man feel sick in his stomach. Not one of his words seemed to seep through to the understanding of his ... he didn't want to call him slave, although that was what he was... 

Trying out another tactic he repeated what he had said in the language of the Elves that he had learned from his foster father. He tried to keep his voice calm and friendly and hoped that he was getting through somehow now.

The Elf's head shot up when he heard the same voice, which had only spoken strange, Human language, forming words in a manner that sounded so much like his own kind, that he thought he had woken up from a dream.

But when the blond man looked up, his blue-violet eyes met steel blue ones, and he looked into the face of a creature which seemed so unfamiliar like anything else he'd seen lately. His eyes widened slightly and he stared at the man, not able to believe that this kinds of sounds could ever leave the mouth of a Human.

Still he didn't really understand what he had said, but his fear was almost forgotten. This one was actually trying to talk to him, instead of talking at him.

Aragorn smiled when the Elf finally reacted to his attempts of talking to him. So when his head shot up, he took the opportunity and studied the eyes that looked up at him with a glimmer of hope and surprise sweeping through them. But they were gone soon enough to tell Aragorn, that the Woodelf had recognized the language he was talking to him, but didn't understand the words he said. It confirmed what he had heard... Elves had drifted so far from each other that they didn't really understand each other anymore.

But since his gift seemed to feel much more confident when he didn't speak in the tongue of the Humans, Aragorn talked on in the Elvish he learned.

"Im... Aragorn," he said and put his hand on his chest. Then he pointed to the Elf. "Ho...?"

The slave listened carefully, trying to understand what the Human said. Which wasn't really hard, since his gesture towards his own body was unmistakable.

"Em... Legolas", he peeped quietly, in his own language, pointing to his own chest with his tied up hands.

"Legolas Greenleaf."

"Legolas..." Aragorn repeated mumbling, tasting the name on his tongue like he would do with a new brand of wine and found that it left a pleasant feeling in his mouth.

"Legolas, I'm sorry for what happened," he explained, still a bit stunned by the brazenness of his wife to buy one of her own kind and give it to her like a present... like some lifeless item. "But my wife has given you to me, and there is now way I can set you free now. It would hurt her and drive her further away from me than we already are." He sighed, letting out all the frustration that had build up during the past months, almost years. "I'm pretty sure you don't understand much of what I say to you." He smiled wearily. "I'm sorry."

"Laine", Legolas whispered, after he turned his head away again. At least there was one word he was absolutely sure of what it meant. Even though he could tell that the Human had said something about not setting him free. And there was one other word that sounded familiar, but it wasn't possibly true. Why would the Human apologize to him? He was his slave after all.

Staring down at his hands again, the Elf swallowed the lump in his throat. His master sounded rather frustrated… Most likely because of him. And it was his duty to make him feel better.

"Em… em tên… mûel", he whispered, hoping the words would ease his master's heavy thoughts.

Aragorn rather guessed than knew what Legolas said to him, because the words sounded strangely familiar, but then again quite different, as if it was from the same of origin as his Elvish, but had developed into another direction. It was quite interesting from an etymological point of view, but Aragorn had far more important problems at hand.

"Yeah... unfortunately," he sighed and let his gaze wander over the Elf's body again. "Even if I did set you free... they'd catch you again... in your state of health..." He was rather talking to himself than Legolas, almost mumbling than talking out loud. The train of words was stopped though as his eyes were glued to the offending bright red ribbon, that was still wrapped around the Elf's chest and the - as he had to admit - rather short tunic. He made a face and then crouched slowly towards the being in the corner, who still seemed to be frightened of him.

He held up his hands, still indicating that he didn't want to cause Legolas any harm and motioned towards the ribbon. "Let me remove this..."

_To be continued..._  
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And please... don't send any more comments about Boromir being the one who died, not Faramir. This is **AU(alternative universe)**, so there are some things that are different. This is one of them.


	2. The Master and his Slave

Title: Tên Mûel  
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)  
Archive: please view my profile  
Category: AU, RPG  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*  
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), angst, slavery...  
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.  
  
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. insert evil laughter here  
  
Note: The Sindarin we used (and transformed for ourselves) we got from a little program called Dragon Flame (which I always think that it is this game I don't want to play unless I know I am on my own), but since it didn't have all the words we needed, we had to make them up. If you have any questions feel free to send an email to any of us... and hope that we still know what we wanted to say. ^^;;;;  
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When the human moved closer, Legolas automatically tried to keep the distance and moved backwards. But the chain kept him at the level, and all he could do by retreating was choke himself. So he stood still, suppressing another shiver as the man came closer.  
  
But then, he started talking again, and the elf looked up, since he didn't understand the words. The human was pointing towards his chest, towards the tunic...  
  
Legolas' eyes widened and he swallowed. He was pretty sure that his words meant that he wanted to take off his clothes, and panic rose in the captured elf. Not caring anymore if the necklace choked him or not, Legolas moved farther backwards and lifted his hands to defend himself. Even though he knew he didn't stand a chance against the human.  
  
Aragorn knew he had done something very wrong as Legolas eyes fixed him first in surprise and then widened with horror as he inched closer. The Elf's struggle and his attempts to get away from him were in vain though, as the chain held him pretty perfectly where he was. So the only things between them were the Elf's hands, elegant hands as Aragorn noticed, while he was trying to get his hands on the ribbon. But he was having a hard time getting through. So being as frustrated as he was, he did what he didn't want to do.  
  
"Don't struggle!" He ordered and regretted his words while they shot out of his mouth.  
  
Legolas didn't understand the harsh words, but he stopped struggling nevertheless. Shivering violently he bowed his head down even farther, although it hurt his neck, and closed his eyes to hide the tears which filled them. Still holding up his tied hands he lifted them a little higher, as if he tried to cover his head.  
  
"Nícaer... nícaer..", he whispered over and over again, just hoping the human wouldn't hurt him.  
  
It hurt Aragorn to see Legolas like this. But it was said, he couldn't take it back and all he could do now was trying to regain the little of trust he had won before his outburst. And he knew that it would be much harder than before. Legolas was shaking so violent with fear that the question of what those people who sold him did to him came to his consciousness once again.  
  
Furious over himself, he leaned forward and undid the knot of the ribbon, tugging at one end and watched how it fell down and snaked its way around Legolas chest. If the circumstances weren't so bad, this might almost look sweet... He paid careful attention that he didn't touch the Elf, and moved back the instance the ribbon was fully gone from his chest.  
  
'So I did unwrap my present...' he thought, but his mind supplied him with the addition of, 'well, not completely yet.' He frowned and reprimanded himself not to do that at any time. First because Legolas was a man and he usually didn't lay with men and secondly, although his brothers had a different opinion about that, he didn't want to assume that Legolas was like them in this matter.  
  
So he just sat there in silence on the stone floor, about two arms reach away from the Elf and watched him carefully, waiting for the reaction on something that never happened.  
  
Legolas eyes snapped open, when he felt the band around his chest being removed. Panic and fear still rising, he wasn't able to move, even if he hadn't been chained to the wall. But suddenly the hands withdrew and he could feel the human backing away from him.  
  
The elf didn't understand what this meant, but he could see the man didn't move anymore as he stared down at the red ribbon which now laid around him on the ground. Pressing his bound hands against his forehead, Legolas closed his eyes again, not able to prevent the tears from falling.  
  
"Nícaer", he whispered again and sobbed slightly. He had sworn to himself never to show such a weakness to these brutal creatures, and he didn't until now, but it was just too much.  
  
He was far away from home, sold as a slave to people who's language he didn't understand, who hurt him without him even knowing why, and he was cold and tired. If it wasn't for the chain who didn't allow him to move, Legolas would have curled up in the corner farthest away from any of these humans.  
  
"Nícaer..." Salty tears streamed down his face, unhindered, and soaked the cold stone floor.  
  
The pain in his chest increased, and the situation got even more awkward than before, and all Aragorn wanted to do was say or do something that would calm this Woodelf, make his fear go away. But there was nothing he could think of which wouldn't scare Legolas even more right now.   
  
So the man stood up as silently as he could and went to find some food, bread and wine the servants had put into his room for a last meal. He poured some of the red wine, which tasted excellent by the way, into a chalice and broke off a piece of the loaf. Using one arm to hold both of those items, he grabbed a spare blanket with the other from his bed and returned to his place in front of the Elf.  
  
Somehow all of this felt like he was trying to talk to a frightened mare, to let her know that she was in good hands and that nobody wanted to cause her harm, just that this mare was a beautiful Elf.  
  
He put the chalice and the bread next to him, the blanket into his lap and finally tried to say something to sooth Legolas. With a glimpse of remorse he noticed that the stones held a little puddle of tears now.  
  
"Legolas..." he said as softly as he could.  
  
The elf's pointed ears slightly twitched when the human called him. Still sobbing quietly, the blond man slowly looked up, lowering his hands just a bit, so he could look over them. Legolas shyly glanced at his master, and took in the blanket in his lap and the food next to him.  
  
Only at the sight his stomach started growling. The Woodelf quickly looked away, bowing his head back down, again whispering his apology, while the flooding tears slowly dried up.   
  
Aragorn almost started to chuckle when he heard Legolas' stomach speaking louder than the Elf himself, but managed to keep it down as a smile. He offered the cup of wine to him, trying to look trustworthy... something that worked in counsels and tiring debates, but he wasn't sure if it would work here.  
  
After the Elf managed to calm his body down mostly he fearfully looked up again. But what he saw there probably shocked him even more. The man was smiling at him, actually smiling. Not sure what to think, say or do, Legolas stared at his master for a few seconds, until he noticed the cup he was handing to him.  
  
He could smell the sweet scent from the shiny red liquid and immediately his throat started to hurt, to remind him how thirsty he was. But the elf hesitated to take the offered cup, since it meant to move closer to the human. Legolas swallowed and after another few moments of struggling within himself he slowly moved closer.  
  
The pressure from his neck disappeared as he did so, and the chain slightly sagged. Finally the elf extended his still bound and shaking hands to grab the offered wine, only to withdrew them a few inches before he touched the cup.  
  
What if this human just wanted to gain his trust to hurt him even more afterwards? He could easily take advantage of his thirsty and hungry condition, poison him, and watch his pitiful slave writhe in pain.   
  
With a doubtful look in his eyes, and also shades of fear in them, he looked into the steel blue orbs of his master, trying to find an answer to his thoughts.  
  
Again it seemed as if Legolas' body decided for him and Aragorn extended his hand a little more, so that the Elf could get the cup without getting within one arms reach of the man. He looked at him expectantly and nodded when he saw that the Elf despised the offer, perhaps because he feared that it was poisonous. He had expected this reaction and it showed him that this man wasn't born in slavery and used to live freely with pride.  
  
To show him that the wine didn't cause any harm, he raised the cup to his lips and took a good sip from the red and tart liquid and tasted how it flowed down his throat. It was in that particular moment that he noticed how thirsty he actually was and cursed himself for not taking the bottle with him. So he emptied the chalice, put it to the floor and stood up, the blanket falling to the ground, to fetch the rest of the wine and bread. He might as well get some food as well.  
  
After he sat down in front of the Elf once again, he poured more of the wine into the cup and finally offered it to Legolas.  
  
Seeing the human drinking the wine convinced the Woodelf that it wasn't poisoned, and he grabbed the cup with a clumsy movement, which betrayed nothing of the elf's usual grace. Trying not to be too hasty, Legolas quickly drank the sweet liquid to ease the burning sensation in his throat.  
  
His eyes never left the bread while he emptied the cup, neither did they after he set the cup down and shove it back into the direction of his master. The elf felt like his stomach was torn apart, but yet he didn't dare to ask.  
  
Aragorn noticed the longing looks Legolas send over to the bread on his side and he immediately offered it to the hungry Elf, but not without eating a small piece of it himself. Waiting that the loaf was snatched out of his hand, Aragorn wondered how long Legolas had to starve... He sincerely doubted that he was given any food in all the time before he was sold to Arwen.  
  
"Maybe you're lucky to be here..." he said thoughtfully, munching on his own piece of bread.  
  
Trying not to look like the strange pink animals which had been sold on the marked next so the stage he was on, Legolas stuffed as much of the bread in his mouth as he could, afraid it would be taken from him again, if he wasn't quick enough. Even though it gave him a hard time chewing, the elf took an almost too big bite every time he swallowed down the last one.  
  
"Hinead", he managed to get out between two bites and systematically eliminated the bread in his still slightly shaking hands. The stuff tasted awful on his sensitive tongue, but the elf forced it down. He was grateful for it, grateful that he got the chance to fill his aching stomach. And since he didn't know when he would get something to eat again, he ignored the taste and just swallowed bite after bite.  
  
Aragorn stared open-mouthed at Legolas eating and almost forgot that he should chew on the bite in his mouth. It went so far that he closed his mouth only to hide the laughter that was trying to seep out. So when he heard a word from between the crumbs in the Elf's mouth, Aragorn started to laugh. A full, free laughter like he hadn't laughed for ages as it seemed to him.  
  
After he had calmed down a little he offered the rest of his bread without second thinking. "Here, for you. But eat a little slower... I don't want you to get sick."  
  
Legolas looked up from his bread, scared and startled. Scared because of the loud sound and startled when he saw the human laughing. The elf looked at his master thoughtfully while he chewed his last bite and licked the crumbs from his fingers.  
  
He slightly backed away when he saw the man's hand reaching out for him, from the corner of his eyes. Legolas looked up and was even more startled when he saw the bread held out for him to grab it.  
  
The elf could only guess the meaning of the words, but it seemed like this man... Aragorn... actually cared for him. Not being very trusting in nature though, Legolas snatched the piece and withdrew his hands quite quickly. Anyone could tell that his movements had already changed.  
  
"Hinead", he murmured again and continued eating, slower this time, chewing more carefully.  
  
With an acknowledging nod Aragorn returned to watching Legolas and he was almost proud of them both that he was now eating slowly, almost evenly, not as hasty as before. It seemed as if they could build up a relationship based on some kind of trust, at least in some time. But before that, Aragorn had to talk to him more fluently. He could see that the Elf understood parts of what he was saying, but not all of it. As he didn't every word that came out of the other's mouth. But that could wait, at least for now.  
  
Aragorn watched Legolas intently as he ate. His pale skin looked a little dull with all the bruises and the bits of dirt that weren't washed away by the diligent hands of Arwen's maidens. Legolas was thin, a little too thin for the man's taste, but the trained eyes of a warrior could see that underneath the battered-looking skin lay well-defined muscles, once strong enough to rip out a tree or something as extraordinary as that.   
  
Looking at Legolas made him wonder what the Elf would look like in his natural surroundings, the forest, trees, flowers and all you could think of when the picture of a deep dark forest came to your mind... well, Aragorn could do without the spiders of Mirkwood, but that was something different. It was like watching a unicorn... Something as beautiful, although that was an Elf thing, as ethereal and magical as this blond man was seldom in the world that humans lived in. And although Aragorn would have preferred if they had met under better circumstances, he considered himself lucky to have met Legolas.  
  
The elf ate up the bread entirely and again licked even the tiniest crumb from his shaking fingers. He felt better now that he was satiated, even though his stomach already started to rebel. The strange taste of the food and his earlier hastiness seemed to cause his starved body some problems in accepting it.  
  
Legolas swallowed and tried to get the awful taste out of his mouth. He was quite sure that the bread would stay where it was, if he didn't have the taste on his tongue, which was making him want to throw up. He glanced at Aragorn and then looked at the bottle with the wine. It was empty.  
  
The elf swallowed again. His throat felt dry like dust and it started burning again. Not only did he want to get rid of the taste, he was also thirsty again. Staring down at his tied up hands he slightly rose his voice:   
  
"Puêl en rem?"  
  
"Huh? Of the bread? I'm sorry, but that's the only loaf I had," Aragorn said, but then noticed that Legolas had been looking at the now empty bottle of wine. He hadn't even noticed how quickly they had emptied it... or rather, himself. There was just a bit left in the chalice...  
  
Looking into the cup Aragorn decided to give it to Legolas. "You can have the last bit. I'm going to fetch another bottle."  
  
With those words said, he stood up and went into the other room, to do what he had said he'd do.  
  
The elf watched the other man walk out the room. After he left, Legolas looked at the cup and the few remaining draughts wine in it, obviously offered to him. Crawling a bit forward, Legolas grabbed the cup and emptied in slowly.  
  
The cool liquid eased the burning sensation in his throat, but it wasn't enough to end it. So he sat down and waited for Aragorn, who'd said something about getting more. At least that's what he thought he had understood. And he was proven right when the human came back with another bottle in his hand.   
  
Legolas held up the cup in his tied up hands, looking at his master with pleading eyes as he waited for him to fill the vessel.  
  
Aragorn almost stumbled backwards as the saw those pleading eyes of the color of the night sky. The man hadn't expected such a ... puppy-like look at this time. He quickly regained his composure though.  
  
His hands moving fast from constant training he uncorked the bottle and sniffed at opening, checking if the wine was okay, before he leaned down a bit and poured the alcoholic liquid into the offered chalice. He was a bit concerned though that Legolas might get drunk... and that was something he hadn't intended.  
  
"Maybe I should get some water, too..." he said to himself, now in the language of the Humans.  
  
The elf winced slightly when the words touched his ears, causing him to choke on the wine, since it went down the wrong way. He quickly set the cup to the ground as his body started to shake violently at each cough.  
  
"Nícaer," Aragorn exclaimed and fell back into talking in Elvish. He didn't mean to scare the Elf again and cursed himself for his thoughtlessness. "I'm sorry..."  
  
He didn't quite know what he should do, so he just stood there with the bottle of wine in his hand.  
  
Legolas soon managed to calm his body down, but now his throat hurt even more and the stabbing pain had watered his eyes again. Blinking, the elf tried to dry his eyes, before he looked up and nodded slightly.  
  
"Aranja..", he murmured, and bowed down to lift the cup to his lips and empty it. Then again he extended his hands and looked up at his master.  
  
Still eyeing the Elf with some amount of concern he lowered the bottle again to pour some wine into the cup. His concern increased as he saw how fast Legolas seemed to drink it, almost like somebody who was drowning... It would have been okay if it had been water, but wine... even this not as strong as the usual ones made quite an impact on those who were as light as Legolas.  
  
After the elf emptied the chalice again, he put it down and leaned a bit backwards to show that he had had enough.  
  
"Hinead."   
  
Legolas didn't only feel better now that he was full and had managed to get rid of the awful taste in his mouth. He also started to feel the heavy liquid running through his body, making it heaver and harder to move. Tiredness washed over him, like a huge wave and the warm feeling, caused by the wine didn't help much to stay fully awake.  
  
In addition to that there was his weakened condition which made it possible for the wine to hit like an explosion. If Legolas was in his normal shape, it probably wouldn't have affected him that much. But now his cheeks where flushed and he slowly lost the feel for his body.  
  
Aragorn congratulated himself bitterly to managing to make the Elf drunk. He put the half-filled bottle on a table close-by and kneeled down in front of Legolas. Being greeted by the sight of a little pink on those pale cheeks and droopy midnight eyes he had to admit once again that his wife had a good taste. Only she could find somebody as beautiful as this Woodelf.  
  
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He didn't want the other to think that he did this on purpose.  
  
Meanwhile Legolas had closed his eyes and he only nodded slightly, since he didn't want to move his head too much and he rested his forehead on his hands to support his head, which seemed to grew heavier every second.  
  
For a few moments the thought came to his mind, that his master made him drunk on purpose, since the elf felt rather weak and defenseless. But on the other hand, why should the human give himself the trouble of doing that? He was superior to his slave anyway.   
  
His thoughts soon got blurry, and all Legolas wanted right now was to sleep. The Woodelf slowly passed out, his body sinking to the side and he would have hit the ground quite hard, if it wasn't for a strong arm to catch him and hold him.  
  
Somehow... Aragorn had seen this coming and thus he was quick enough to catch Legolas before his head could hit the stones in front of the mantelpiece. They were quite sharp and he didn't want to see more bruises on that already battered skin.  
  
"I will sleep on the couch tonight..." he said softly and carefully picked up the Elf. He carried him towards the bed, which was well in reach of the chain and set him down there on the soft cushions. Quite too soft for his tastes sometimes, but now he was grateful for them. He moved to pick up the blanket and tucked the sleeping Elf into it.  
  
With a small smile he leaned down a little and brushed some loose blond strands out of Legolas' face. His cheeks were still quite rosy and curled up as he was he looked young... very young, although that could be deceiving with Elves. Aragorn guessed him to be about one of the youngest Elves around, almost the same age as Arwen and even that would make him old enough to have seen over two thousand years. His thumb caressed one cheek idly while he pondered how it was able for those slave-hunters to catch an Elf.  
  
"How did they do it?" he mumbled, still staring down at the sleeping figure on his bed. He pondered for a moment to take off the shackles around his wrists, but decided against it. The first thing he would surely do, was an escape try and maybe it wouldn't stop him, but at least hinder him from moving too fast. He couldn't let him go... not yet.  
  
The world out there was too cruel for somebody like Legolas...  
  
Aragorn pried himself away from staring down at him and went to the other side of room, closer to the mantelpiece again where a big and comfortable armchair stood. Under normal circumstances he would have preferred his bed, but this situation was anything but normal, so he guessed he could be satisfied with sleeping in it tonight... he had slept worse in his years as a ranger.  
  


_To be continued..._  
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Hey guys, today is our first anniversary. We've been writing on this fic for exactly 6 months now! ^__^  
  
Feedback is as always very much appreciated!  



	3. Attempt to escape

  


Title: Tên Mûel  
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)  
Archive: please view my profile  
Category: AU, RPG  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*  
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery...  
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.  
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.  
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. insert evil laughter here  
  
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When Legolas woke up the next morning, the first thing he felt was warmth and a soft fabric surrounding him. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was laying in the human's bed. Startled he slightly raised his head to glance around, and found his master sleeping in the armchair.  
  
Another glance out of the window told him that it was still early morning, probably around 4 am. The light was mild and no bird was heard. They were still sleeping as well.  
  
Moving soundlessly as he was used to, Legolas sat up and got out of the bed. He noticed the change in his body. It wasn't weak anymore, didn't hurt with aching need for food and his movements regained most of their usual grace. He had to get away from here… away from the humans, and back home.  
  
Looking down at his tied up hands he found that they were bound very well, and for a normal being it might have been impossible to get free. But not for the elf. Legolas moved his hands a bit, stretched them, and finally simply slipped out of his ties and laid them on the ground.  
  
Then his fingers wandered over his necklace and the chain connected to it. Soon he discovered the mechanism and opened it. It wasn't as easy as getting rid of the ties, but after a few failed tries he managed to get free from the chain. Without making any sounds he slowly set down the chain, glancing to the sleeping human every now and then to make sure he was still asleep.  
  
After he freed himself, Legolas sneaked to the window and looked out, only to find himself being too stunned to move. He was looking down at a beautiful garden, which wouldn't have a hard time compared to his home. So many blooming flowers and trees, slightly swinging in the gentle morning wind, cherry blossoms falling like a rain of silk.  
  
Taking a deep breath, the elf carefully opened the window and bent forward, only to find himself in dizzying height. And even though he as a Woodelf was used to that, it surprised him and made him hesitate for a moment. In his normal condition it wouldn't have been a problem for him to just jump down, but even though he felt better, his body was still weakened.   
  
In his dreams Aragorn was chasing through the forests, breathing deeply and he was the happiest man in Middle-Earth because he didn't have to work through all those stupid requests addressed to Gondor. He was feeling free and although he liked being King, this dream was good. But it was disturbed by a sudden gasp that came from the outside realm.  
  
He stirred, in his sleepy confusion not fully comprehending what was going on, and pried his eyes open. He didn't know what time it was, but his inner clock told him it was way too early to wake up now. Through the small slits that let the outer world into his consciousness, he saw somebody blond standing at his window and he wondered for a moment who it was. But then he remembered the events of the previous day and he groaned. Thanks to his wife he was now proud owner of an Elven slave. And said slave was trying to get away from him right now, standing at the window, looking like he was ready to jump out of it.  
  
All tiredness was suddenly gone from his body, and his mind was clear in a second as he felt his veins like they were on fire and he jumped up, was at the side of Legolas in an instance and pried him away from the sill.  
  
"Have you gone crazy?!"  
  
The elf stumbled backwards as he was pushed away from the window and winced when the harsh and loud words hit him. His mind and body weakened from the outburst he sank down on his knees, shaking violently.  
  
Legolas bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the first blow from the human's hand, which came quite late anyway, from what he had experienced, or probably a kick, or whatever he felt like.  
  
Digging his nails into the stone floor the elf remained silent, in case not to piss his master even more, even though he was pretty sure what he'd said.  
  
Now that the danger was over, at least for the moment, Aragorn's blood cooled down again and he allowed himself a sigh. He then kneeled down to be on eye-level with Legolas.  
  
"I know you want to be free," he said in Elvish, "but the world outside is cruel... I vowed to myself not to cause you any more pain, but also I cannot let you go. First of all, it would hurt my wife and secondly I don't want to be responsible for any more harm. If you go, they will catch you..."   
  
His voice faded and he raised his hand to Legolas' cheek. He almost winced as the Woodelf jerked when his hand touched the pale skin. "In a few months time... you can go... when you gained some weight..."  
  
Legolas had slowly opened his eyes again, when the human started talking. He saw that Aragorn kneeled in front of him, but he didn't dare looking up, and continued staring on his hands. The elf didn't understand most of what was said to him, but he started to realize that his human didn't want to hurt him, but that he didn't want to let him go as well.  
  
A bit scared when he suddenly felt a gentle touch in his face, Legolas slightly backed away and lifted his head to look into his master's eyes.  
  
"Naá ú sí laine?" he peeped quietly.  
  
"Why not now?" Aragorn repeated in his version of Elvish, just to get it clear. He sighed and put his now empty hand into his lap. "Because you're too easy to catch right now. You are weak and I don't mean this as an insult." He pointed to Legolas. "...I'm afraid you will loose your skin if you start to run."  
  
Nodding slowly the elf looked out of the window. He understood what the human tried to explain. He was a much to easy to catch prey right now, and he mustn't die. Legolas had a responsibility back home, and he needed to return.  
  
"En ablis cuinar", he said and looked back into Aragorn's steel blue eyes. But this also meant for him to be patient, wait and not try to escape, which he was hardly able to. Legolas was still afraid of the people surrounding him, yet of the one right in front of him even though he seemed rather friendly.  
  
But looks deceive, and as much as he knew about these creatures, they were good liars, good actors and had betrayed the elves many, many years ago for their own advantages. So why should he trust this human now?  
  
He didn't, and he was afraid to change it. Therefore he slowly started to move backwards, away from the other man. He would survive, yes, but that didn't mean he had to stay here. Legolas was able to look after himself very well.  
  
For quite a long moment they looked into each other's eyes until Aragorn found that he wasn't breathing anymore. He covered his next deep breath with a sigh, as he tried to make sense of the myriads of emotions he had seen in those midnight blue eyes. Understanding, admittance, a single glimpse of longing, determination and then the ever present struggle between trust and disgust of which Aragorn was sure was only meant for him. Legolas' face didn't show much emotion, but his eyes were as deep as the caves of Moria.  
  
Aragorn closed his eyes and sighed. Outside it got lighter with every moment that passed while the sun sent its first rays over the horizon. It was no use going back to sleep now, even the birds were fully awake now, betraying the tension in the King's chambers with their happy songs, welcoming the next day. And if that wasn't enough, Aragorn's stomach let out a protesting growl as it didn't get anything to eat last night and he looked at the Elf sheepishly.  
  
He blinked and found that Legolas was now further away from him than before and he frowned, knowing that his doubts got the upper hand.  
  
"The servants should come in here soon with breakfast. They are trustworthy and listen to my every word, so... don't try to cause them harm," he said thoughtfully, still not sure if Legolas believed him or not that he didn't want to hurt him. It would have been better, if the servants saw the Elf in his chains, but he couldn't force himself to suggest this right now. Although the last thing he wanted was for the Elf to escape.  
  
Legolas' eyes never left the human while he constantly moved away from him. Aragorn had said something about somebody coming, so if he couldn't escape through the window, he would use the door instead.  
  
After some time the elf could feel the wooden surface of the bed in his back and stayed where he was. It didn't take long for the said somebody to come, and although he servants moved as quiet as they could, Legolas heard them long before they even reached the door.  
  
Opening it carefully one of them stuck his head in to see if his king was still asleep. As he saw the bed was empty he fully opened the heavy door and stepped in, followed by another man. The first one was carrying a plate with several sorts of food on it, while the second held two bottles of something Legolas couldn't make out.  
  
The elf strained his muscles, and quickly glanced from Aragorn to the other humans, before he shot up and ran towards the door, simply slipping through the surprised servants. They didn't really see what happened, 'cause it all happened way too fast.  
  
Once out the room Legolas didn't stop. He ran down the hallway, looking for an exit. What he found though, were stairs and he quickly ran down, only to find himself in an even bigger hall. Not hesitating he made attempts to cross it when he heard voices. The elf quickly hid himself behind a pillar, panting heavily.  
  
It stunned Aragorn that he wasn't even surprised to see Legolas out of the room quicker than he could blink. He was on his feet the moment he saw some blond strands whip around the corner behind his door. The servants barely made it out of his way as he started to chase after the much faster Woodelf. The only advantage he had was the fact that he knew the halls of Minas Tirith... and Legolas didn't. He could almost sense where the Elf stopped for less than a heartbeat in his elopement, having lost none of his skills as a tracker in the years of being king.  
  
Meanwhile Gimli, who was staying at Minas Tirith because of Aragorn's invitation walked down the main hall in his pursuit of some breakfast. He hadn't seen much of his friend during the past few days, since the king's duties kept a hold of him most of the time, so he had to spent the days with the queen of Gondor, the lady Arwen, Aragorn's Elf-wife.   
  
She was a pleasant appearance and Gimli liked her, but he sensed that he wasn't quite the company she wished for. The necklace he had given to her was of finest Dwarven handiwork and she appreciated and cherished it like every woman in Middle-Earth, but well... she was an Elf. As beautiful as any gem he had ever seen, but there was something about her that he didn't like. He had heard that she had saved Aragorn's life several times and that the man loved her with all his heart, but he couldn't understand it.  
  
He stopped dead in his tracks, right in the middle of the large hall when he heard some breathing coming from one corner. Looking around he wished for his axe as he yelled, "Who's there?"  
  
Legolas winced when he heard the deep voice yelling in the language on the humans. And it was directed to him, there was no doubt about that. But how could that be. No human could possible have seen him or heard him.   
  
But as it looked now they had already discovered him, so there was no use in hiding. Trying to suppress the shivers running through his body, the elf stepped out from behind the pillar to face the stranger. Legolas was quite startled and let out a surprised gasp when he stood face to face with a… dwarf…  
  
Clenching his fists, the Woodelf calmed his body down. It was only a dwarf, nothing to be afraid of. But Legolas could already hear steps coming closer, humans approaching him, most likely alarmed by the yell.  
  
Chased as he was, the elf hasty glanced around to find an exit.  
  
Gimli blinked. Right in front of him a blond Elf had stepped out from behind a pillar. A blond one as well, so he immediately thought it was the Lady Galadriel, the most beautiful Elf he was ever allowed to place his eyes on. The three hairs she had given him when the Fellowship of the Ring was found by the Lothlorien Elves were securely in an amulet on his chest. But it wasn't her.  
  
"The Woodelf?" he asked with doubt in his voice. Of course Arwen had told him about the present for Aragorn and he had told her quite directly that he didn't approve of the idea, especially not when Aragorn was involved. The man didn't like slavery or using other beings for his own profit, so a slave wasn't the greatest idea of a present for him.  
  
He hadn't even spoken the last few words when he heard somebody racing down the stairs that led to the king's chambers. He turned his gaze to see Aragorn taking three steps at once. He was panting from the long way downstairs and looked more like the ranger he used to be seven years ago. The fire was back in his eyes compared to the last time he saw him, hunched over papers and looking like he hated the whole world for making him do this. It looked like he was having the fun of his life chasing after the Elf.  
  
"Hoho Aragorn," he laughed, grinning at the Human. "Seems like I found something that you lost... or it rather found me."  
  
Aragorn stopped dead in his tracks, his naked feet almost screeching on the stone floor and came to a halt between the Dwarf and the Elf.  
  
"Gimli!" His voice sounded shrill to him and Aragorn took a deep breath to calm down a bit. "Gimli, this is Legolas. Legolas, meet Gimli, son of Gloin."  
  
The Dwarf frowned and looked at Aragorn doubtingly. But then he understood. It wasn't like Aragorn to treat a slave like a lower being but like a guest, even if he had to chase after him for a while.  
  
Again Legolas ears twitched when Aragorn talked in his mother tongue, although the man tried to keep his voice down. He was just about to turn around, using the surprise and run towards the windows behind him, when he heard something familiar.  
  
Staring at the dwarf his eyes widened slightly.  
  
"Gloin?" he asked doubtfully "Iôn o Gloin?"  
  
Gimli blinked in surprise and stared openly at the Woodelf. He hadn't expected to be addressed directly by him, and although he didn't understand what he had said to him, he was able to guess the meaning of it, since Aragorn had just introduced them.  
  
Aragorn was just as stunned. He looked at Legolas, eyes wide in surprise. "Do you know Gloin?"  
  
Legolas glanced to Aragorn, then back to the dwarf. Actually all he wanted to, was getting away from here, but something kept him right where he was standing. And that was Gloin, or rather his son.   
  
Regret shimmered in his eyes as the Woodelf looked down at his hand, and the ring that wasn't there anymore. A small stripe of his skin was paler then the rest, and showed that something had been there for a very long time.  
  
"Sû", he whispered. Gloin had forged the ring only for him, and it was his duty to wear it all his life, but now the valuable thing was gone. The humans had stole it from him, most likely sold it, without knowing it's meaning, magic or might.  
  
And now he stood face to face to his son, and a wave of guilt washed over the slave. He had been careless, and Gimli had every right to blame him for loosing his most precious property, the ring which would guide his immortal soul to the eternal grounds. Now it was gone and his soul would be lost for eternity if he didn't get a new one. But which dwarf would give himself so much trouble for such a stupid elf?   
  
Gimli had no idea what Aragorn and the Elf were talking about, but he understood that the Elf... Legolas knew his father. In fact he seemed rather sad about something. The Dwarf's mind worked hard to find out something that his father might have done in the past for an Elf, but all he remembered was something about a journey to Mirkwood, when Gloin had been nothing more than a midget. He had to present his first important work to somebody but he didn't remember who, just that it was some Elf.  
  
Aragorn had studied Legolas' face once again, trying to find out what all these emotions meant. His look followed the Elf's down to his hand but he saw nothing there, just that it seemed as if something was missing there to him.  
  
He relaxed a little and took a small step towards Legolas before he spoke. "Where do you know him from?"  
  
As soon as Aragorn moved towards him, the elf snapped out of his memories. He automatically took a few steps backwards to keep the distance to the human, suddenly being reminded that he had intended to leave.  
  
Something he still planned to do. He well understood Aragorn's question, but he wasn't going to answer it. If this human knew who he was, he probably changed his mind and wasn't all that friendly anymore.  
  
Taking another step backwards he slowly approached the windows, not taking his eyes from the other two men.  
  
As soon as Aragorn had relaxed he tensed up again as he saw Legolas moving towards one of the windows. This hall wasn't as high as his room and even he might jump out of it without being hurt. The impact would be hard, but he could live with it. Despite better knowledge he quickly made another two steps towards the Elf, offering his hand.  
  
"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay... just... don't jump," he almost begged but was interrupted by Gimli.  
  
"Hah! Praise the memory of a Dwarf! Now I remember it!" Gimli shot out triumphantly and raised his head to look at the Elf and the man. "You are from Mirkwood, aren't you? You must know Thranduil!"  


_To be continued..._  
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This chapter made us wonder about a few things between Dwarves and Elves... like Do Dwarves speak Elvish? Well, since the message on the entrance of Moria was written in Elvish, but Gimli (obviously) wasn't able to read it, we decided that there was a time once, when Dwarves spoke the language of the Elves and had good relationships with them, manufacturing special items... I hope we can explain it a bit better in future chapters. But yet again: Feedback is much craved for and we are willing to answer any question you might have... ^^;


	4. Aragorn's rage

  
  


Title: Tên Mûel  
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)  
Archive: ff.net obviously doesn't want to display the links, so I'll just leave it be *growls*  
Category: AU, RPG  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*  
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery, angst...  
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.  
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.  
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. insert evil laughter here  
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Aragorn's head whipped from the Elf to the Dwarf in surprise. "Thranduil? I heard of him, he's the King of the forest Mirkwood," he said to Gimli. The Dwarf nodded. "My father had to present his first work of jewelry, a special ring for the Elves, to him. I think it was for his son... At least that's what he told me. He doesn't like the Elves very much," the Dwarf added, unnecessarily.

Aragorn stared at Gimli a little longer before his head turned back to Legolas. His mind told him that Legolas was missing a ring on his finger, but he disavowed it for now. "Thranduil... do you know him, too?" he asked, his arm still stretched out towards the retreating Elf.

Legolas eyes widened when the Dwarf shouted the name of the Elf king. Even though the name sounded very strange in this harsh language he recognized it. But this wasn't good. If the Dwarf remembered what his father had done for Thranduil then he probably knew who the Elf actually was.

The Woodelf looked to Aragorn, staring at him as he asked him something about the Elf king, most likely if he knew him. Legolas knew that it wasn't of much use to lie and he didn't like lying either, but he had to, in case to safe himself, and so he slowly shook his head to the question.

Still taking one step after another backwards he soon bumped into the sill. He grabbed it for support since he felt his knees getting weak, caused by the shivers which were running through his body again. Legolas glanced over his shoulder out of the window. It wasn't very high and jumping down wouldn't probably even hurt him, if it wasn't for his legs to give in.

The Elf clenched his fists. The fear that they found out who he was controlled his body and made it impossible for him to move. Lowering his eyes to the ground he squeezed them shut, while he slowly sank to the ground.

His master was most likely very pissed now, because he had tried to escape, and Legolas expected nothing else but to be punished for it. Maybe he even deserved it for being stupid enough to get caught. The Elf bowed his head down when he heard more Humans approaching and curled up into a tight ball, while pressing himself against the wooden surface of the wall, his naked legs on the cold stone floor sending even more shivers up his spine.

"Nícaer..." he whispered, while he still tried to hide his fear somehow, or at least most of it. "Nícaer..."

Aragorn heard the guards approaching as well but with a snappy motion of his arm he told them to stay where they were. He moved closer to the curled up Elf and hesitantly put a hand on his back as he kneeled down in front of him and the window. Legolas might have shaken his head in denial, but his body told him something quite different.

"You do know Thranduil, don't you? Are you trying to protect him from the Humans? I'd understand this. From me?" He sighed, knowing it would be difficult to show him that he didn't want to cause him any harm. Rubbing the Elf's back in soothing motions he looked up at the Dwarf.

"Gimli, tell Arwen to get here immediately," he asked, in his usual order tone though. "Tell her that it doesn't matter what time it is, I just want her to face what she has done to him... and me," he added quieter, more to himself.

The Dwarf nodded, slightly surprised by the harsh tone towards him, a friend, not a subordinate. As fast as his legs could carry him, he rushed upstairs and knocked at the Queen's chambers.

"Lady! Wake up! Your husband wants to talk to you!"

Inside her chambers, Arwen was busy putting on her robe, aided by her maidens. She blinked and turned to the door. "It's quite early, isn't it? I'm not dressed yet."

Gimli sighed and cursed the Elf inside his mind. "It doesn't matter. He awaits you in the main hall. Now." He sincerely hoped she would listen to him.

Arwen glared at the door. "Does he want to embarrass me in front of every one? And why did he sent you and does not talk to me in person now?"

"Because he is having an eye on the slave you gave to his custody yesterday," the Dwarf growled in response. "I told you to be wiser in your choice of presents for him."

Arwen motioned to her maidens to bring her over-gown to her. If Estel wanted to see her now, she would have to go.

Meanwhile Aragorn was still rubbing the Elf's back in soothing motions, babbling non-sense. "I'm not mad at you... just worried... Not all Humans like to have an Elf as a slave."

Legolas slightly calmed down when he realized that the man at his side wouldn't harm him. He still held one of his arms protectively over his head though, as if the Humans disappeared when he just couldn't see them.

"Naá milui enni?" he asked quietly. He was used to Humans hurting him, and he just couldn't understand why this one didn't. Up until now he had thought Humans hated Elves and loved to humiliate them if they managed to catch one.

Aragorn understood the question quite well, but he wasn't able to find an answer at once. He just couldn't say that he just cared about the Elf and that this was the reason why he was nice to him. But there were other reasons as well.

"Because somebody has done wrong to you and you are in a situation that you don't like and don't approve of. I just want to help you," Aragorn whispered. "Because I don't approve of it as well..."

His words trailed off when he accidentally reached under the tunic of the Elf, and was now touching the bare skin of his sides, the outline of his ribs undoubtedly distinguishable underneath his fingers. He stopped his movements, almost gasping as a bolt of some sort struck him that made his hairs stand on end. It wasn't the kind of feeling that he had when Orcs were approaching him from behind, but a pleasant shudder that he had only with Arwen before she became his Queen. He stared with wide eyes at the Elf, slightly wondering if he felt the same.

"Estel, why do you have to bother me this early in the morning?"

Arwen's deep, but now somewhat annoyed voice made the king of Gondor snap out of his sudden dreamlike state. He jumped to his feet, trying his very best not to look sheepish and turned around.

Somehow the innocent expression on his wife's face made him furious.

"My dear beloved wife, as you weren't able to answer my question last night, I'm asking you again, why did you give me a... slave," he asked, barely able to control his anger and was having a little problem with the last word. To him, Legolas was a tormented being, a person and not some kind of animal or object that you had to impress your friends and foes.

"My dear Estel, I thought it was a good idea. Or would you have liked another horse?"

Aragorn balled his fists so tightly that he could feel his nails digging deeply into his skin. "Yes! More than somebody who was taken out of his usual life and sold like some... necklace or earring!" Somehow he felt good to see her face contort with surprise and even fear. He took a deep breath before he continued.

"But..."

"Enough! He should just be happy to be with me now instead of somebody less... honorable who would have done who-knows-what to him already!"

Gimli, who had kept silence while the couple was talking... debating... yelling at each other, almost gasped in surprise to see a fire in the man's eyes, that he usually shot at Orcs before their heads were detached from their body. He almost felt pity for Arwen who had to withstand the glare directly. But the Elf-woman didn't even flinch the slightest bit. She just stood there and let her husband's words drop off her. She was so calm that Gimli was frightened more of her than Aragorn.

"That's what he was trained to do: to help you relax. The man whom I got him from told me he knows various ways to ease your tense muscles. Haven't you been complaining about this backache for a few years now?"

Aragorn was boiling with anger. He didn't know what Legolas was taught before he was sold to Arwen, but by the way he looked and how he reacted to every approach of the man, it surely wasn't anything educational.

"Arwen," he growled, his voice barely a whisper. "Get out of my sight... if you don't want me to hurt you..."

Legolas had listened to the Human's explanation, trying to understand the meaning, and blinked when he did. This man was different from the others, that much was for sure. But before he could spin that thought farther, the Elf was interrupted by Aragorn's hand moving slowly under his tunic while he still stroked over his back.

The slave shivered as the warm hand touched his cool skin, but strangely he didn't mind it. Aragorn had only been nice to him since they had met, even though Legolas had tried to escape twice. And whether the Elf wanted to admit it or not, the gentle touch felt good on his bruised body.

They where suddenly interrupted by a female voice, talking in... Elvish? Legolas slightly lifted his head after the man jumped to his feet, without removing his arm from above his head though, just enough so he could see the approaching woman.

His heart felt as if it was going to stop beating any second as he caught sight of a female Elf approaching them. A beautiful Elf with dark hair. Legolas swallowed. It didn't seem like she was a slave, but then again... didn't Humans hate Elves?

Legolas' eyes widened and he gasped as he heard his master calling her his wife. Everything the Woodelf had ever heard about Humans was turned upside down in this particular moment. He had thought that what had happened to him was quite "normal" and now he watched a Human and an Elf arguing like husband and wife, like what they were.

And they were obviously arguing about him. Curling up even tighter Legolas covered his ears. He didn't want to hear their yelling, and he didn't want Aragorn to yell at his wife just because of him. Legolas had recognized her voice, she had been the one who bought him. But he didn't care, he just wanted the yelling to stop.

And even though he knew that his master had no intention in hurting him, his fear of him grew with every shouted word. Aragorn was so filled with anger, and the way he snapped at his wife made it very clear that one word was enough to make him loose control over his rage.

Legolas pressed himself against the wall even closer, wanting to melt with it as he could feel his master's anger rising constantly, until the woman finally turned around and left, and the Elf just hoped that the Human wouldn't draw his attention back to him now, together with his fury.

Arwen glared at her husband with all her might in return and with a rustling of her robes she turned around and stormed back into her chambers, not loosing any other word. She was so furious she would have hurt her husband even more if she had opened her mouth one more time so she rather kept it shut, pressed into a thin line.

Gimli saw it as she passed him by, storming back to her chambers upstairs. He was quite sure that her lips would see now smile today, no matter how bright the sun shone or how delicious the food of the Hobbit-cook was. He himself was looking forward to something to eat. This had been too much excitement for him and also without breakfast.

So now he decided that no matter what would happen next, he would go to the kitchen now and eat as much as he could. But then there was a raging Aragorn in the hall... all alone with a defenseless Elf... who was his slave by the way. Torn between his hunger and his natural instinct to protect the Elf, although he neither liked him nor knew him, he chose to move slowly towards the kitchen, observing how Aragorn treated the Elf now.

Aragorn needed several steadying intakes of breath before he was able to face anybody again. His rage over the heartlessness of his wife towards somebody, even from her own race, had made him more furious than on the day Elladan and Elrohir had vent their despair back on that day in Helm's Deep, where they had to face an army of ten thousands of Orcs with about three hundred civilians. They hadn't understood that Aragorn had to fight this battle even for his own sake. He had been ready to die for and with the people of Rohan and this was something the Elves weren't able to fathom. But he survived and they even won the battle in the end with the twins and an army of Elves at his side.

The memory of this day made him calm down finally and he was ready to talk to Legolas again without scaring him once more. He kneeled down again and offered his hand to the Woodelf, intending to help him up if he wanted to stand.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this..."

Legolas slightly backed away and shook his head. The Human didn't have to feel sorry for this. It was him who should apologize for causing all this trouble. And the Woodelf surely hadn't intended to do that.

"Nícaer", he whispered with shaking voice and shyly glanced in the direction Arwen had taken off to. But what he caught sight of were the Human guards still standing at the exits of the hall and he quickly turned his gaze away.

Aragorn stared at the Elf for a few moments, puzzlement written all over his face.

"Sometimes I wonder if that's the only word you know..." he mumbled. But everything else he wanted to say was interrupted by a very loud grumble.

"Oh, eh... sorry," the Dwarf said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Turning his head around, Aragorn looked at Gimli with wide eyes and had a hard time hiding his chuckle. "My dear friend, it seems as if your stomach wants to tell you something. Just go and get something to eat, I think I can handle the situation from here on without your much praised help."

The Dwarf looked at the Human with suspicion in his eyes. He doubted whole-heartedly that Aragorn could handle this situation, but there were important things than that right now, namely his protesting stomach. "Alright, Aragorn. I trust the Elf to you. Don't cause him any harm."

Having the satisfaction of hearing the man emit a deep amused laugh, he finally took off for the kitchen to silence his body.

Aragorn felt lighter in his heart after Gimli left and managed a smile when he offered his hand to Legolas again. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?"

Legolas just looked up at the man for some moments. Some seconds which could also have been an eternity while he looked into the steel blue eyes of the Human and searched for... something. He wasn't really sure himself. Maybe remaining rage, or anything like that.

Finding none of that, the Elf finally nodded slightly. But he didn't take the extended hand. Instead he moved farther backwards, shifting a bit until he managed to get on his feet. Once more grabbing the sill for support, Legolas slowly stood up, still looking to the ground though, and waited for Aragorn to lead the way.

A bit hurt Aragorn pulled back his hand and moved to stand on his own feet as well. He knew he should turn his back towards Legolas to show his trust, but the problem was that Aragorn trusted Legolas in that particular moment to take the chance and turn and run away again. The look in his eyes as he had raised his head had been piercing and deep, full of a wish for something Aragorn couldn't put a finger on though. But he knew if he found out, he would be able to turn his back on the Woodelf.

He stood, his body turned towards the staircase, his arm outstretched indicating the way Legolas should go when he wanted to join him and his eyes locked on the other's face, letting a little amused smile grace his features.

"We're going back to my room. I will show you the way, if you haven't recognized it yet."

Legolas almost pouted. Of course he knew the way back. But still he looked at the Human doubtfully. He was obviously expecting him to lead the way now, something the Elf didn't quite understand. And there also were the other Humans, standing next to the stairs, and Legolas really didn't want to get near them, even though they seemed to do what Aragorn told them.

Aragorn was a little irritated that Legolas didn't move and looked back, almost encouragingly as he noticed that the guards will standing at the entrances and exits of the hall although he had thought he had ushered them away earlier. But he hadn't done then, he could do now.

He raised his voice. "You may go now as well."

The men looked at him with raised eyebrows but then left without any word of protest.

The King of Gondor turned back to Legolas and waited for him to make a step into the direction he wanted to move. His expression was still soft and encouraging.

_To be continued..._  
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I like my Gimli... My-chan does to, because she encouraged me to put him in here. ^^; Which gave me stress of playing three of the now four main characters... _


	5. A glimpse of Trust

thank you all so much for your reviews! *huggles all reviewers* ^_____^ you make us SO happy!  
  


Title: Tên Mûel  
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)  
Archive: please check my bio  
Category: AU, RPG  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*  
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery, angst...  
Spoilers: none as we've all seen the movies  
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.  
  
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. insert evil laughter here  
  
Note: for more recent updates, please check the archive in my bio.  
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When the Woodelf saw that the men moved away he glanced around to make sure that they were really gone. He was pretty sure that Aragorn didn't want to hurt him, but that didn't mean that the other Humans shared his opinion.

Still looking to the ground he only saw his master from the corner of his eyes, but that quick glance was enough for him to make him feel a little safer when he saw the Human's soft gaze on him.

Slowly he took a few steps into the shown direction and when he heard Aragorn following him he slightly sped up, walking towards the stairs and then moving up to the king's chambers. The Woodelf felt awkward, with the Human following him, but he tried to keep his pace slow and even, although he felt more like running.

Finally they reached the room he'd been spending the night in, and found the doors open and the servants gone. They hat placed the plates on the table, tidied the bed and put his hand ties next to the chain at the wall.

Legolas tore his gaze away from there and looked at the table. As soon as he did his stomach started to growl, even louder than the Dwarf's had and he quickly turned his head away, bowing it down again.

The walk back to his chambers was more uneventful than Aragorn had thought. Something that had happened down there in the hall seemed to have changed his attitude. If not so much that he trusted Humans, but at least so far that he trusted Aragorn a little more than before.

As they walked up the stairs in silence Aragorn thought back to that tiny moment when he had touched the Elf's bare skin, to the tingle that had went through his body. He pondered why he felt like blushing when his wife had addressed him afterwards, why it felt like cheating on her for the moment this feeling had lasted. Legolas was a man and while Elladan and Elrohir might have tried to involve him in their "games" when he was younger he wasn't the one to look out for men as possible companions in bed. He preferred the softness of a woman in his bed, in particular that of his wife. But watching the smooth motions of the Woodelf in front of him awakened some kind of longing he could only compare with his longing for the fresh air of the woods when he was in a very long and tiring council.

He only snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud and low grumbling, coming strangely from the one in front of him. Snapping his eyes open, he saw that his servants had prepared breakfast during their absence.

Ignoring the low grumble coming from his own stomach he put a hand reassuringly on the Elf's shoulder, smirking slightly. "Let's start the day with a good breakfast." He hauled the lighter Legolas forward and made him sit down in the chair that had its back turned towards the hook to which the Elf had been tied the previous day. He himself sat down in the chair facing Legolas, closer towards the door.

Quite startled Legolas let himself being pushed down to sit in the chair, the table with the food now right in front of him, which made his stomach growl even louder. The Elf's eyes roamed over the plates, trying to make out what all this food was. He saw the bread he'd been eating yesterday and quickly turned his gaze away. He wouldn't eat it again if he didn't have to, that much was for sure.

Then his eyes caught sight of a bowl with fruits. He blinked while he stared at the rather big collection of apples, oranges, cherries, pears, peaches, nuts and strawberries. Swallowing, Legolas quickly reached out and snatched a handful of nuts and an apple, before he leaned back in his chair and drew his legs up in automatic manner, to have them as close to his body as possible. Something he got used to over the last month.

He set the nuts on the table right in front of him and took big bite from the delicious smelling apple. While chewing the stuff he took one of the nuts in his other hand and cracked it with two fingers. Legolas also stuffed the crumbs of the nut in his mouth and didn't really notice that the Human was still sitting on the other side of the table.

The fruits tasted just too good, and the Woodelf almost felt like a king himself, now that he finally was able to fill his stomach in a regular manner, instead of getting a little bit to eat every once in a while.

The man watched Legolas closely how he inspected the food in front of him, noticing how he turned his gaze away with a very obvious shimmer of disgust washing over his face. He made a mental note not to offer this kind of bread to Legolas anymore and watched with a silent smile how the Elf made a grab for the nuts and the apples, almost beaming like a little child who found a lollipop.

Aragorn, who had no objections towards the bread cut of a slice and put some butter on it, when he heard the sound of nuts being cracked. He looked up, just to see Legolas popped the heart of one nut into his already filled mouth.

His eyes went wide with surprise since he didn't expect the Elf to have the strength to crack nuts with his bare fingers, especially not in his weakened state. It seemed as if he had underestimated the remaining strength of the Elf. Which made him wonder once again how it was possible for simple Humans to catch an Elf like Legolas.

He poured some milk into his cup, knowing that it came from the royal cows his cook was quite proud of. The Hobbit always praised the succulence of his precious cattle, especially when he was about to prepare a feast with steaks. But they also gave the sweetest milk in the whole kingdom and as soon as Aragorn figured that fact out, he had made it his favorite morning drink.

The white liquid poured into his chalice and he couldn't wait to wet his throat with it. Placing the carafe back to its place on the table, it was only a heartbeat until he had the cup on his lips, drinking the sweet and still warm milk hungrily. So when he had finished his drink, he set the cup down on the table again, letting out a deep sigh as he wiped the milk-beard from his real beard.

Meanwhile Legolas had finished his apple, not even sparing the core of the fruit and continued cracking the nuts. But the strength in his fingers slowly faded and when he cracked the last one, his fingers already hurt quite badly. Plus the peel seemed to get thicker and thicker with every nut, and this last one was rather sharp as well, causing the Elf's thumb to bleed.

"Ouch..." Legolas winced slightly and stuck the red finger in his mouth, sucking it carefully. The Woodelf slowly looked up though when his nose smelled something sweet. It was unfamiliar, but yet it made his hunger rise again.

He blinked a few times when he saw the origin of that smell. It was a bottle with some white liquid in it. He didn't know anything like that, but whatever it was, it smelled really good.

Aragorn was about to pour himself a second cup of milk when he saw the curious and hungry glance from the Elf at the other side of the table. He saw him sucking on his thumb as if he had cut himself, but as soon as he saw the amount of broken peels on the table in front of the Elf... probably all cracked by his hand... he guessed that it was now most doubtlessly cut.

Noticing in which direction the glance went, Aragorn grabbed the carafe again and started pouring some milk into a glass, pushing it over to Legolas afterwards. There wasn't another chalice as his servants hadn't thought that he would feed a slave like a guest. Aragorn had to tell them to bring a set of two breakfast utensils every morning as long as Legolas was staying with them.

He looked at the Woodelf expectantly, encouraging him to drink it with a nod of his head.

Legolas grabbed the glass slowly and carefully without removing the thumb from his mouth though. He lifted it up and sniffled before he finally released his bleeding finger and took a small sip of the white liquid. After he tasted the sweet stuff and noticed just how good it was, he emptied the glass quite fast, licking the remains from his upper lip.

Even though it was just a liquid, it was very satiating and made his body feel warmer from inside. And he wanted more. The Elf shyly glanced at the almost empty bottle, not wanting to take it from his master, since it was his food. But he was still hungry, and now that he had started eating he had to fill his stomach until it was satisfied.

"Puêl en rem?" he peeped quietly, once again throwing a puppy-eye-look at his master, without even knowing it.

Aragorn smiled. He didn't know if Woodelves knew cows and their milk, but Legolas obviously didn't. And then he was giving him this look again, this I'm-a-lost-puppy-take-me-home-with-you-look that was able to break the bravest man's heart if he didn't fulfill his wish. So Aragorn shared the last bit of milk in the carafe willingly with the Elf, and then made a move to call his servants for a new one.

The servants had expected a call like that and were already carrying a full bottle with them, placing it on the table without saying any other word, although they send curious glances towards the actual slave sitting at the table. But they ushered out of the room as quickly as they came.

One of them wasn't as lucky as the others though and was held back at his sleeve by Aragorn. "Bring me another two carafes please. It seems that I am not the only one who likes milk..." he said quietly and only meant for the servants ears. Said servant nodded and was out of the room the moment the King released his garment.

Legolas made a mental note what the stuff was called in the language of the Humans, even though he was quite sure he'd break up his tongue if he tried to say the word. Waiting for the Human to fill his glass again, the Elf took the chance to study his face closer.

His expression was soft and his eyes weren't as stabbing as those of the other men, the men who caught him. This one was completely different. Plus he was talking Elvish, something the Elf would never have expected from one of these creatures.

All those aspects made Legolas feel rather safe in his presence. He was still afraid, yes. But his fear seemed to fade away with every single moment going by. And then there was something else. His name. The female Elf had called him Estel. Hope.

Emptying the glass once more, the slave pondered if he should ask or not. This Human was his master after all, and he as a slave wasn't allowed to talk without being asked. Well... he had already done that, and it seemed like Aragorn didn't mind. And he had said something about not liking to have an Elf as a slave, and he didn't treat him like one either.

Setting down the glass Legolas slightly cleared his throat.

"Naá he can Estel?"

Aragorn had just raised his own cup to his lips, savoring in the taste of the milk when he heard Legolas ask a question. He was quite sure that this had cost the Elf quite some effort as he was surely trained not to ask his "master" any questions or even talk when he was not asked to. At least if you judged by his previous behavior.

He assumed that Legolas had understood the word that was his name, and that it was literally eating up inside why an Elf would call him - a Human - "hope", as in his opinion Humans were probably worse than Orcs.

Slowly he set down his chalice and fixed his eyes on the Elf.

"She calls me Estel because that is the name my foster father gave me... He put his hope in me to renew the friendship of Elves, Humans and Dwarves, become King of Gondor... to bring peace... restore something of the past..."

He trailed off as his voice got quieter in embarrassment, thinking that he didn't deserve being called "hope" for all these reasons. He was the hope of the Dunedain, the lost heir of Isildur... but although he had accomplished what he was expected, he still wasn't sure if everything was as good as it should be.

Legolas tilted his head while he listened to the explanation and his eyes darkened. It was wishful thinking to hope that Elves and Humans could become close friends again. Probably impossible, and even though Aragorn's intentions were pure he sincerely doubted that he would manage this.

Not really sure how he should express what he was thinking, the Elf slightly turned around and gazed at the chain. As long as Humans caught Elves and sold them for a high price, they would never be friends again.

Legolas turned his gaze back towards his master and smiled at him shyly. It would be wonderful if it could be like it was thousands of years ago. Without all the fear and hatred.

"Estel," he whispered and his smile widened just a bit, still almost imperceptible.

Aragorn looked up from his grim thinking as he heard Legolas' voice saying his Elven name. He noticed the faint smile on the Elf's lips, along with the wishful thinking he wanted to read into it. He too hoped that Elves and Humans could be friends and he knew that he was friends with the Elves, but it was clear that his position was special... maybe he was hope because of that. As long as Humans caught both Elves and other Humans and sold them as slaves... there would never be peace at all.

He stared back at Legolas, studying his features and wondering why he would call him "hope", too. He had no reason, too as he was the one who held him captive right now. Unwanted, but it was still the man who was taking care of him. The question "why" was nagging on him so much that he couldn't restrain himself anymore and asked it out loud, hidden behind a bit of other curiosity though.

"Are you going to call me "hope" as well?"

Legolas' eyes trailed off while he had another struggle within himself. On one hand there was his training, and he was supposed to address anyone as 'master' especially the one in front of him. On the other hand there was his desperate longing for freedom, peace and well, hope.

This Human was his hope, and probably his only chance to ever get home again. With him there was a little bit of light that slowly came back into his life. And it grew. From second to second.

"Nín estel", he whispered and looked to the ground, somewhat ashamed to call his master that, but it was what he felt. This man had brought a little hope back into his body.

Said man took his time to study Legolas from where he sat, his mood changing from embarrassment over shame to amusement back to embarrassment. So he had managed to get through to Legolas with what he said, but this was almost a tad too much. It wasn't for the fact that he didn't want the Elf to trust him, he just didn't want Legolas to place too much hope into him, hope that he was not sure if he could fulfill it.

Not knowing what he was supposed to say, he assumed that he should feel honored, although he was pretty shocked right now.

"If you want to call me that... it's okay," he finally said. "I'd prefer Aragorn though..."

He was interrupted by another servant who knocked on the door politely before he walked in.

"My king, your duties demand you... Boromir wants to know what this letter you send him last night is supposed to mean. He's waiting for you in the throne room."

Aragorn's eyes narrowed slightly at the whispered news. He wasn't finished with his breakfast yet, and he hadn't even changed his clothes, something that he needed to do.

"Tell him I'll be with him in about half an hour. And send somebody to get me fresh clothing," he ordered, whispering as well. When the man had exited the room he turned his gaze back to Legolas, sighing a bit.

"I have to attend my duties... I'm sorry, but I have to leave although I would have preferred to talk to you a little longer, Legolas."

The Elf nodded.

"En henio."

Of course Aragorn couldn't stay with him the whole day, and somehow Legolas was also glad about that, because he actually wanted to be alone and rest. The tiredness already started to creep back into his body; one night of sleep just hadn't been enough to compensate the enormous lack of sleep during the past weeks.

The Elf held a hand over his mouth and tired hard to suppress the yawn, but didn't quite manage. He could have just lain down on the ground and slept immediately. But he knew he had to stay awake. This was still a strange place and if he was going to sleep, then only with his back against the wall, or probably even two walls.

His thoughts being interrupted as the door was opened again, Legolas turned his head to see who was entering and saw the king's servants, bringing new clothes for him, as ordered. One of them had another package of clothes and lay them down separately from the others.

The same servant bowed low before the King and said, "These clothes are sent by the Queen for your slave, your royalty. She sends her love and respect and hopes you have fun with your present."

The rage that Aragorn had controlled and calmed down so that he could almost forget it came now back with an almost blinding intensity. With a very grim face, he stalked over to the second pile of clothes, that didn't look like his. He picked them up carefully and watched how a green silken gown unfolded itself before his narrowing eyes. It was a beautiful gown and Aragorn remembered seeing it on Arwen a few years ago on a banquet for guests from Ithilien, when she had her phase liking green.

Aragorn raised his head again, trying to soften his glare, but he didn't quite succeed. "It seems as if my wife has developed a strange sense of humor..."

He threw the gown back onto the bed and stalked over to his wardrobe, pushing surprised servants out of his way. After some serious and deep roaming through the contents he finally brought up a pair of gray leggings and a leather shirt, both looking quite outworn.

"You can have those; they might not look good, but are very comfortable. Or you can wear the gown my wife chose for you. It's your choice."

Legolas could feel the anger within his master rise again and would have backed away, if it wasn't for the chair he still sat in, to hold him where he was. He didn't understand what the servants had told him, but for some reason, the Elf was pretty sure that he didn't want to know.

His eyes widened though when the Human lifted up a dress. Not that it looked bad, but he could guess that it was meant for him. The slave almost winced when Aragorn looked up and when he saw his hard features, and said something about his wife that didn't really sound nice. He was mad at her again, most likely for sending the gown. And Legolas surely wouldn't wear such a thing. He'd rather wear a potato bag - like he had to over the last weeks - or anything like that.

Watching his master carefully as he walked over to the closet, Legolas thought how he could deny wearing the dress, without getting himself in trouble because of the disobedience, as he saw him searching through his own clothes. The Elf raised his eyebrow in question. Didn't his servants just bring him something to wear?

But then he saw him turn around with some old looking clothes, offering them to his slave. And without second thinking, Legolas extended his arm and pointed towards the leggings and the shirt in Aragorn's hands.

Aragorn's anger had cooled down while he had the satisfaction of digging through his clothes and he was now calm enough to accept every choice from Legolas. But it didn't surprise him to see the Elf pointing towards the worn leggings without hesitation.

"Very well, you can have it then," the man said and smirked over his little triumph over Arwen, before putting the clothes onto the back of a chair and turning back to his servants. "Tell my wife she shall get this gown changed... get one of her maidens to resew it into a tunic for a man if she wants a man to wear it." The servant who had delivered the message of Arwen bowed low again and nodded in acknowledgement. "I will send her your message. Do you need any help changing your clothes?"

Aragorn shook his head no. He was able to put on his suit of armor in less time than any of his servants could, thus he should be able to change his clothes himself. The servant tilted his head forward and ushered the others out of the room, taking one step after the other backwards, his eyes never leaving Aragorn's shoes. The man was about to ask if he had stepped into something the previous day, but that was the way his servants acted around the King of Gondor. Seven years and he still wasn't used to it.

Sighing deeply he started to undo the knots of his over-shirt.

_To be continued..._  
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*looks pleadingly at the reader*


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